METHANOL CHEMISORPTION AND DECOMPOSITION ON FEAL(110) - A HIGH-RESOLUTION ELECTRON-ENERGY-LOSS SPECTROSCOPY AND TEMPERATURE-PROGRAMMED DESORPTION STUDY

The adsorption and decomposition of methanol on FeAl(110) have been investigated with high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD). The adsorption of methanol on FeAl(110) at 110 K is shown to be primarily dissociative, resulting in the formation of a methoxy overlayer. HREELS shows that the methoxy species are stable, at least up to 400 K. Heating to higher temperatures results in methoxy decomposition, with both C-H and C-O bond breaking. TPD data suggest that in addition to gaseous hydrogen and methane evolution, the desorption of methyl radicals occurs near 540 K. A characteristic spectrum of aluminum oxide is obtained by annealing the methoxy-covered FeAl(110) surface to 1000 K.